Ups and Downs

Running isn't just an emotional sports, its an emotional way of life.  You might feel on top of the world at one point, and then feel down in the dumps the next day.

Case in point: my last week.  Had an incredible summer of training including trails, tempos, and high mileage. I was feeling great going into the Parks Half Marathon last week, then after a disappointing finish I was beating myself up over it.  I soon came to terms that the course wasn't a PR course, and neither was the weather that day.  Not a big deal, but since my ankle had also started feeling sore that was a huge cause for concern.

Its tough for a non-runner (or I suppose non-athlete) to understand what injuries really mean.  You put in months of training, every day, hour after hour, mile after mile, to get you to a goal.  You love the training, the feeling it gives you after a great run, a great week, checking off those planned runs or just being out there for the fun of it.

Then, you get injured.  An injury can be acute, like banging your knee or breaking a toe, but its usually an overuse injury with runners.  Shin splints, runners knee, IT band syndrome, plantar fasciitis, and the list goes on.  The cure is almost always the last thing you want to hear: Rest.  Some times a few days off will help get rid of minor aches, but for the real injuries its usually more like a month or more rest.  You also have to restructure your training once you are healthy enough to get back out there.  Added stretching, foam rolling, strengthening, and preventative maintenance to keep the injury at bay.  This burns up even more of the time we don't have.  Injuries make us feel down in the dumps, but they are a fact of life, and all you can do is work every day to prevent them from happening.  Once you let your guard down and stop stretching, strengthening, and start doing too much too fast (of anything - mileage or speed work), an injury could sneak up and ruin your season!

After the Parks half marathon I took a Spinning class on Monday, and then rested completely Tuesday to help nurse my ankle.  This felt like an eternity - even though it was only 2 days without running!  All I could think about was my next Marathon being shot, how I might be out for weeks, and what I should have done differently in the last few weeks.

Last night things started feeling better and (though I continue to ice) today it seems almost back to normal.  I was able to get out on the trails (if I have any injury concerns I do trails first - much easier on the body when coming back) this evening for about 90 minutes.  Though I started out feeling dead-legged, I had a great run and feel back on track.  I know I'm not out of the water yet, but a PR at the Chicago Marathon seems obtainable once again, and I should be able to keep training for the JFK50 Miler into Fall.  Fortunately I love the training just as much if not more than having a good race so I stay pretty happy as long as I'm healthy enough to be out there putting in the miles.